Upgrade Suspension / Minimal Lift

[GabrielM]

So just put some good tire on it and call it a day. What you just described is pretty easy for a stock 4runner.

I think the same. I have better tires on my 2010 Trail and sliders. Now I'm at 165k kms and start to replace my shocks with 5100's, but still no lift.

The truck have seen a good share of forest roads, trails, mud hole etc... and still kept going.

I may want some better skid plate as mine are pretty done now...

 

[3wbdriver]

I was just reading about SAW coils. I'm now starting to sway toward 5100s all around with OME coils in the front and SAW coils in the rear.

Or

5100 all around with the lowest setting in the front/OME coils.

Maybe just leveling out the front is all I need.



Bare with me coming from being deep into the Jeep world. When you lift a Jeep, even just over an inch, you begin to deal with geometry, caster, etc. issues. It quickly explodes into adjustable CAs and track bars ...driveshaft decisions ...etc. You expect it to drive "like a lifted vehicle" ...but you're also building/or end up building a boulder crawler that is an unfriendly DD/family vehicle. That's not where I want to go with this. I want this 4Runner to get me out to Colorado and traverse gold mine trails, take my kids to see Mt. Rushmore, yellowstone, etc., go camping/fishing ...and still get me to work (which includes monthly drives from MD to North Carolina).

Mine is a DD/work truck that I drive on long trips to and from oil rigs. I started out with a simple 5100 kit on all 4 corners with the front set at 1.75". I wanted a leveled look, but no real lift at the time. I ended up with a very slight reverse rake because I always haul around a couple hundred pounds of work gear and tools with me, but the body itself looks level. It has been completely drivable since then with no darty feel or any other attendant problems relating to lifts. I have since moved on to some other springs due to add ons, but I can highly recommend the 5100 kit on factory springs as a minor upgrade. In hindsight with what I do off road I may have been more satisfied with an OME kit. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Bilstein 5100 setup. This is the 4R the day I had the kit installed with factory tires and wheels. Some have had theirs set at 0.85" and this still gives you a slight forward rake that would be leveled when loaded.



This is with OME 885 medium coils in the front, 5100's set at 0, and 1.25" spacers in the back on factory springs. Again, still with a couple hundred pounds of gear in the back. I did this after adding a 150 pounds of winch and bumper to the front.



My alignment settings don't match anything like what is recommended by the members of this forum, but the alignment tech was convinced he had set it to the bast he had available and was wiling to change it back around if I wasn't satisfied. It still drives fine for me for the last 70 miles of highway trips and I don't have any complaints to take back to him.

 

[1engineer]

For a guy that knows how to use that google machine so well you sure are old school. Yeah yeah, we know back when you were a kid they didnt have 4runners and you had to walk to work uphill both ways in the snow with shoes you made yourself.

:guitar2:

I have been through the era of having to have everything including the kitchen sink to do a task. When I was a kid I would ride my bike on trails (bmx style bike as true mountain bike had not become mainstream) with just gym shorts and Chuck Taylors. 20 years ago I rode through the woods with the latest and greatest Specialized full suspension, all gears, helmets, shinguards, backpacks, special glasses, lights, first aid and mechanics kit, spare parts, food, more food, a telephone, a spare telephone, a walkie talkie... well you get the idea.

Now I ride (or drive on trails) with the minimum. Again. I ride in helmet, shorts, cheap shoes, T Shirt, gloves. I go off road the same style. Now, granted, the small amount of stuff I take now is a bit better quality than back in the day lol. I just find it to be much more challenging (and easy) without all the "help" and much more fun. So what if I don't take the hardest line anymore. I still get there.

I am pretty sure I decided to do this when my children were tiny little things. My wife and I would take so much "stuff" with us every time we took them out I thought we would have to pull the trailer behind us just to go to the mall. Yep, that's what broke me of taking too much useless stuff. Now it's just duct tape and my Swiss Army knife....

 

[philsey]

So do what I do lol. A bit of a secret about myself:
I am at a point where I find it a challenge to do more with less. When others use a winch I would use a come along. Where others can only accomplish a task with heavy mods I try to accomplish them with minimal or no mods.

For a guy that knows how to use that google machine so well you sure are old school.

[MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] speak with forked tongue. Ask him about his bicycling rabbit hole. Different tune, he sings there.

 

[1engineer]

[MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] speak with forked tongue. Ask him about his bicycling rabbit hole. Different tune, he sings there.

...i did buy a few parts for one of my bikes over the break...

It's still simple, just "decent quality" simple...

 

[RCFJ]

Im also in the same boat as the OP, i have a new 2014 which will see mild offroading at best and some camping trips for a couple of years so there is no need to lift it right now. But I also have an Icon stage 1 that i took off my FJ that I don't want to leave just laying around or sell it and lose a bunch of money on it. So Im going to install just the front coilovers at 0" or maybe 1" lift and the rear shocks only..probably overkill but oh well
:llama::gun5:

 

[philsey]

...i did buy a few parts for one of my bikes over the break...

It's still simple, just "decent quality" simple...

Uh huh. I remember the pm - it was, like, in a foreign language - all the parts and shit.

EDIT: Sorry OP, but someone has to task 1E, [MENTION=81573]Stifler[/MENTION] is gone.

 

[Jhalko]

I am pretty sure I decided to do this when my children were tiny little things. My wife and I would take so much "stuff" with us every time we took them out I thought we would have to pull the trailer behind us just to go to the mall. Yep, that's what broke me of taking too much useless stuff. Now it's just duct tape and my Swiss Army knife....

This^ with a 3 and 5 year old I now have the full length steel roof rack to haul everything,granted I have a good sized dog and they have massive sized car seats. But back to the topic... in my quest to get further away from the 2 million people in the metro area, my mild lift sure does make that easier as I don't want to have repair body damage!

I've always been minimalist on the bike, mostly because when I started I couldn't afford much and now I don't want to drag extra stuff as its habit.

 

[Jhalko]

Im also in the same boat as the OP, i have a new 2014 which will see mild offroading at best and some camping trips for a couple of years so there is no need to lift it right now. But I also have an Icon stage 1 that i took off my FJ that I don't want to leave just laying around or sell it and lose a bunch of money on it. So Im going to install just the front coilovers at 0" or maybe 1" lift and the rear shocks only..probably overkill but oh well
:llama::gun5:

I'd call icon, I thought I read somewhere that they didnt recommend running it at zero.

 

[Jabberjaw]

Thanks everyone ...keep the thread rolling.

I'm still in the decision process, but I'm leaning toward 5100s all around with the fronts set to level the vehicle. It's not too expensive and gives me a platform to build up later.

My wife threw me a curve ball this morning. She wasn't happy when I mentioned the Shrock sliders. She's 5' nothin', remembers getting in and out of my Jeeps with Shrock sliders, and loves the rigid running boards ...so I'll be fighting that battle another day, LOL.

For the front 5100s ...I like the options that Wheelers Offroad offers. OEM vs OME coils? What say you?

 

[3wbdriver]

My wife threw me a curve ball this morning. She wasn't happy when I mentioned the Shrock sliders. She's 5' nothin', remembers getting in and out of my Jeeps with Shrock sliders, and loves the rigid running boards ...so I'll be fighting that battle another day, LOL.

For the front 5100s ...I like the options that Wheelers Offroad offers. OEM vs OME coils? What say you?

I already commented on the OME coils above. Aside from the observation that the 885's I installed did stiffen the front end about 10 - 20%. Not log truck ride quality, but definitely "sportier". I will say my wife (5' 6") doesn't like my Shrockworks step sliders as much as she did the Nfab step bars I had initially installed. But I had to swap them because I was getting just barely stupid enough off road I dragged the Nfabs a couple times. Not enough to damage anything, but enough to scrap the finish off the bottom of them.

 

[High_Country]

I'm in the same boat

I'm enjoying this thread. I'm in the same boat so perhaps my perspective will add some value: I have a basically stock 2015 Trail w/ KDSS and have had analysis paralysis on lift/tire choices.

My goal: CONFIDENT and COMFORTABLE "light expedition" style travel through the Rocky Mountains (think Alpine Loop in Colorado, similar trails in Wyoming, and Montana); NOT rock hopping, boulder crawling, or mud-running. And of course, it has to satisfy daily-driving duties to the office and daycare.

I would like a little more ground clearance and really want to run the 255/80/17 Cooper ST Maxx's. I have been torn between an 'economical' set of 5100's vs. a full on adjustable coil over lift like the Toytec Boss. I am right now leaning towards the Toytec Boss lift
BOSS Suspension System for 10+ 4Runner and FJ
...and for the following reasons:
1) Good reputation for overall product quality and ride quality. I've talked to a few members on here specifically about this kit.
2) Not as expensive as say an ICON setup
3) Infinite and independent adjustability up front to accommodate potential hardware additions/changes such as winches, dual batteries, compressors, and of course any 'lean' issues due to the lift, etc.
4) At the end of the day, it's about $600 more than the $400 5100 setup with some $200 rear coils. $600 is still a lot of dough but having the future flexibility of the suspension to change and grow as the mods do has value. I'd hate to spend $600 on a 5100/rear coil setup and then a year or two down the road need to change something, add more lift, tweak things here and there, and have to buy more parts to accomplish that (making what I've already bought obsolete). This is kind of that "buy once, cry once" philosophy". The Toytec lift can be set at 0" and grow up to 3" (personally, I don't think I'll ever go over 2").

Anyways...that's my mindset right now.

(In addition to the lift, I'll be adding sliders and skids - likely BudBuilt - to help with the confidence and durability on the trail)

 

[CSix]

I'm enjoying this thread. I'm in the same boat so perhaps my perspective will add some value: I have a basically stock 2015 Trail w/ KDSS and have had analysis paralysis on lift/tire choices.

My goal: CONFIDENT and COMFORTABLE "light expedition" style travel through the Rocky Mountains (think Alpine Loop in Colorado, similar trails in Wyoming, and Montana); NOT rock hopping, boulder crawling, or mud-running. And of course, it has to satisfy daily-driving duties to the office and daycare.

I would like a little more ground clearance and really want to run the 255/80/17 Cooper ST Maxx's. I have been torn between an 'economical' set of 5100's vs. a full on adjustable coil over lift like the Toytec Boss. I am right now leaning towards the Toytec Boss lift
BOSS Suspension System for 10+ 4Runner and FJ
...and for the following reasons:
1) Good reputation for overall product quality and ride quality. I've talked to a few members on here specifically about this kit.
2) Not as expensive as say an ICON setup
3) Infinite and independent adjustability up front to accommodate potential hardware additions/changes such as winches, dual batteries, compressors, and of course any 'lean' issues due to the lift, etc.
4) At the end of the day, it's about $600 more than the $400 5100 setup with some $200 rear coils. $600 is still a lot of dough but having the future flexibility of the suspension to change and grow as the mods do has value. I'd hate to spend $600 on a 5100/rear coil setup and then a year or two down the road need to change something, add more lift, tweak things here and there, and have to buy more parts to accomplish that (making what I've already bought obsolete). This is kind of that "buy once, cry once" philosophy". The Toytec lift can be set at 0" and grow up to 3" (personally, I don't think I'll ever go over 2").

Anyways...that's my mindset right now.

(In addition to the lift, I'll be adding sliders and skids - likely BudBuilt - to help with the confidence and durability on the trail)

Looking at a similar thought process, but i will be crawling a bit more here in Colorado. Just waiting on more detail on the new Bilstein 6112's to come out before I pull the trigger. They will be adjustable like the 5100 and are (should) be more robust... (???)

 

[Jimfirefitr]

I love my current setup with Toytec adjustable coilovers/Bilsteins in the front and SAW 1.5 with Bilsteins in the rear. I was close to 2" lift in the rear (3rd row) after install and prior to settling. When I picked the vehicle up after install I didn't notice much of a lift at all. To me it is only noticeable when parked next to my wife's stock 2014 TE. Prior to my current setup, I had Bilsteins on all 4 with the front at 0.85 and stock size Cooper AT3's. Every time I analyzed that setup it felt underwhelming. I also looked at the Toytec Superflex for the rear but most of the pics I saw on this forum showed a lift height greater than I wanted. I am completely satisfied with the SAW's. One post in this forum shows a spring rate of slightly greater than 8% stiffer for SAW vs stock rear coils, so you will get a factory like ride with minimal lift. Good luck with your choice.

 

[Jabberjaw]

I'm enjoying this thread. I'm in the same boat so perhaps my perspective will add some value: I have a basically stock 2015 Trail w/ KDSS and have had analysis paralysis on lift/tire choices.

My goal: CONFIDENT and COMFORTABLE "light expedition" style travel through the Rocky Mountains (think Alpine Loop in Colorado, similar trails in Wyoming, and Montana); NOT rock hopping, boulder crawling, or mud-running. And of course, it has to satisfy daily-driving duties to the office and daycare.

I would like a little more ground clearance and really want to run the 255/80/17 Cooper ST Maxx's. I have been torn between an 'economical' set of 5100's vs. a full on adjustable coil over lift like the Toytec Boss. I am right now leaning towards the Toytec Boss lift
BOSS Suspension System for 10+ 4Runner and FJ
...and for the following reasons:
1) Good reputation for overall product quality and ride quality. I've talked to a few members on here specifically about this kit.
2) Not as expensive as say an ICON setup
3) Infinite and independent adjustability up front to accommodate potential hardware additions/changes such as winches, dual batteries, compressors, and of course any 'lean' issues due to the lift, etc.
4) At the end of the day, it's about $600 more than the $400 5100 setup with some $200 rear coils. $600 is still a lot of dough but having the future flexibility of the suspension to change and grow as the mods do has value. I'd hate to spend $600 on a 5100/rear coil setup and then a year or two down the road need to change something, add more lift, tweak things here and there, and have to buy more parts to accomplish that (making what I've already bought obsolete). This is kind of that "buy once, cry once" philosophy". The Toytec lift can be set at 0" and grow up to 3" (personally, I don't think I'll ever go over 2").

Anyways...that's my mindset right now.

(In addition to the lift, I'll be adding sliders and skids - likely BudBuilt - to help with the confidence and durability on the trail)

I have a long and positive history with Mr. Bill Stein, that said, I don't think you could go wrong with Toytec, Icon, or Bilstein. It's all in the cost.

As it's where I'll most likely be ordering from, I'm going to email Wheelers Offroad to get their input as well.

 

[Jabberjaw]

Okay ...been chatting with Wheelers Offroad and I need some input for a final decision.

All options involve 5100s all around with OME 883 coils in the front. The only difference would be the amount of lift in the front and the rear coil option.

A) Small "leveling" lift in the front and retain OEM coils in the rear.
B) 1.75 in the front and spacers on top of OEM coils in the rear.

 

[Vrrooom]

Okay ...been chatting with Wheelers Offroad and I need some input for a final decision.

All options involve 5100s all around with OME 883 coils in the front. The only difference would be the amount of lift in the front and the rear coil option.

A) Small "leveling" lift in the front and retain OEM coils in the rear.
B) 1.75 in the front and spacers on top of OEM coils in the rear.

What did you decide? Also I keep seeing "SAW coils" - what is this? Is SAW the name of the company?

 

[1engineer]

What did you decide? Also I keep seeing "SAW coils" - what is this? Is SAW the name of the company?

Sway A Way

 

[Jabberjaw]

What did you decide? Also I keep seeing "SAW coils" - what is this? Is SAW the name of the company?

Option B ...5100s with OME coils in the front; 5100s and spacers in the rear (for now).

 

[Jabberjaw]

Lift was ordered and started showing up Friday.

5100s
OME 883 fronts
Superflex rears

My next question: at what lift height do you really need to start thinking about an adjustable pan hard bar?